The present invention relates generally to stringed musical instruments of the kind having a hollow body and a neck member, such as guitars. More specifically, the present invention relates to a body and neck assembly of the instrument in which the primary components, i.e., the back member, top member and neck member, cooperate together to provide a rigid instrument requiring minimal structural reinforcement.
In a guitar, and other hollow body acoustical instruments, the musical tones produced by the strings are intensified and enriched by the supplementary vibration induced in the body and in the top member which forms a part thereof. Accordingly, it is desirable that the body be of relatively thin construction throughout its entire extent for effective sound production.
This thin construction is desirable whether the guitar is a classical guitar constructed primarily of fine grained soft woods, or a guitar constructed primarily of other materials, e.g., a composite material. The term xe2x80x9ccomposite materialsxe2x80x9d means any component made chiefly of two or more weather resistant non-wood materials, such as carbon fibers embedded in an epoxy resin matrix with the fibers either being arranged randomly, unidirectionally or woven into a fabric . This is also the case where the guitar, or one of its primary components, is constructed of a combination of materials. By way of example, where the top of the guitar has a laminated construction which includes at least a pair of composite material layers with a core layer of wood or perhaps some other material, e.g., an aramid material, bonded therebetween. (Aramids are defined by the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, and for purposes of this application, as any of a group of lightweight but very strong heat-resistant synthetic aromatic polyamide materials that are fashioned into fibers, filaments, or sheets and used especially in textiles and plastics.)
However, the guitar construction must have the necessary strength to support the forces exerted by the taunt strings on the general cantilevered arrangement of the neck and body. The strings transmit sound vibrations to the top through a bridge mounted to the front face of the top over which the strings are tightly strung. To compensate for the tension forces produced by the strings, prior art guitars generally require a significant amount of structural reinforcement, e.g., various configurations of braces on the inner surface of the top, and/or tension bars in the neck. These reinforcements add considerably to the manufactures cost and weight of the instrument and are known to affect the tone. Accordingly, in the construction of prior art instruments some compromise is therefore necessary, and structural integrity is often attained in such instruments at some sacrifice to the instrument""s acoustical performance.
The connection between the neck and the body, i.e., the neck/body connection, is also important since any weakness in this area will allow bending of the body relative to the neck. Moreover, the neck/body connection must perfectly align and rigidly hold the neck in all three axial directions, i.e., upward/downward, forward/rearward and laterally. A quality guitar therefore requires an exceptionally strong and firm joint between the neck and the body providing excellent resistance to movement of the neck in any direction relative to the body by string forces, shock forces or any other forces imposed thereon.
However, a good neck/body connection is very difficult to consistently achieve in prior art guitars where the connection is made in primarily one place, i.e., at the upper end of the guitar. A single point connection is difficult and time consuming to align in all directions. Additionally the connection requires substantial structural reinforcement to remain rigid and stable under the moment forces applied by the taunt strings pulling on the peghead of the cantilevered neck.
In attempts to address this problem, prior art guitars generally utilize a relative massive neck block disposed upon the inner side wall surface at the upper section of the body side wall that is either bonded to the inner surface or is an integral portion of the side wall itself The lower or heel end of the neck is usually connected to the neck block through various mounting means, e.g., bonding pads, bolts, or tongue and groove. However, this adds considerably to the instruments cost and weight, is very difficult to consistently align properly and affects the acoustical performance of the instrument.
There is, therefore, a need for an improved body and neck assembly of an acoustical stringed instrument to provide a rigid instrument requiring minimal structural reinforcement.
The present invention offers advantages and improved alternatives over the prior art by providing an acoustical stringed instrument, e.g., a guitar, having a neck member which is mounted to the body 12 (FIG. 2) in two places to provide a neck/body connection which substantially and easily aligns and rigidly holds the neck member in all three axial directions. Additionally, the three primary components required in the assembly of the guitar, i.e., a top member, a back member and a neck member, provide mutual support for each other when assembled together to significantly reduce or eliminate additional structurally reinforcing elements which would otherwise be required.
These and other advantages are accomplished in an exemplary embodiment of the invention by providing an acoustical stringed instrument including a body, which has a top member having a generally flat forward part. The body also has a back member, which includes a side wall with an upper section and a lower section and an inner side wall surface generally perpendicular to the forward part of the top member. A neck member of the instrument has an elongated upper portion extending upwardly from the upper section of the body side wall. Additionally, the neck member has an elongated lower portion extending through the interior of the body between the upper section and the lower section of the side wall and spaced rearwardly of the forward part of the top member. The elongated lower neck portion has an upper mounting means fixed to the inner side wall surface at the upper section of the body side wall, and a lower mounting means fixed to the inner side wall surface at the lower section of the body side wall.
In another embodiment of the invention, the side wall of the back member has an outer surface generally perpendicular to the forward part of the top member, and the forward part of the top member has an outer edge and an inner surface. The top member also has a skirt projecting rearwardly from the inner surface of the forward part and extending along the edge of the forward part. The skirt has a laterally inward facing surface which is generally perpendicular to the forward part and which laterally overlies and is bonded to a portion of the outer surface of the body side wall.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, and from the accompanying drawings and claims.